Sunday special.

A Yankee Doodle Comes Home With Unbridled Joy

Fifteen years after he celebrated his 18th birthday at the Kentucky Derby with the first of three Triple Crown victories on Affirmed, Steve Cauthen has come home again, a man of the world.

His wife, Amy, is expecting their first child shortly after the first Saturday in May, and Cauthen has a job working as an analyst on the ABC telecasts of the Triple Crown races.

Cauthen's career in England paralleled that of another American, Cash Asmussen, in France. Crossing the Atlantic was the best move either of them ever made, not only from a professional standpoint but from the perspective of personal growth.

"Cash and I had been successful but obviously we both would have weight issues to confront if we continued to ride in the U.S.," says Cauthen. "But we knew we always could come back if we chose to.

"We went over and found we enjoyed the atmosphere, we enjoyed the lifestyle and we enjoyed the racing. We never came back simply because we were extremely happy doing what we were doing."

Cauthen went to England to ride under contract for owner Robert Sangster and trainer Barry Hills. After six years he became the stable jockey for trainer Henry Cecil. Then, for the past two years, he was under contract to Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum.

His major victories in Europe include the Epsom Derby in 1985 on Slip Anchor and in 1987 on Reference Point; the 1000 Guineas and the Epsom Oaks in 1985 on Oh So Sharp; the Irish Derby and the French Derby in 1989 on Old Vic; and the 1991 Italian Derby on Hailsham.

"In England the major sports are soccer and horse racing," he says. "When I would walk down the street people would acknowledge me and it was nice."

In addition to the triumphs there was a near-tragedy in 1988 when Cauthen broke his neck in a spill, sidelining him for seven months. There were numerous other less serious injuries-a broken knee, a broken arm, broken fingers, broken ribs and a broken collarbone.

"I think jockeys who say they've never had any fear are lying but at the same time a jockey can't continue to ride at the top level if he's afraid," says Cauthen philosophically. "You have to put that out of your mind.

"If I'm never able to do anything else in riding I still will feel blessed. There wasn't a greater team in the history of English racing than (with Cecil) from 1985 through 1990. We went all over Europe and conquered.

"When I left this country (the spring after Affirmed became the last Triple Crown winner) I felt I was an all-around jockey. But actually it was like a child going back to school. All the race courses there are unique.

"I had to adapt to a new style of racing. Here the first quarter is almost always faster than the last quarter. Over there, many times the last quarter is run faster than any other part of the race.

"Tactics are much different. When you are confronted with the great variance in conditions at the respective tracks, when you have undulating courses and when you sometimes are going up a hill for the last furlong and a half you have to adapt.

"To some degree I changed the face of racing in England because I had a lot of success with frontrunning tactics."

Most of the thoroughbred superstars Cauthen rode while under contract to Cecil were owned by Sheikh Mohammed.

After Mohammed took his contract, Cauthen won six Group I races in 1991 and one last year.

The sheikh and his brothers from the ruling family of the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai have spent more money than anyone in the history of the sport in assembling the world's largest collection of exquisitely bred horses.

Cauthen was paid befitting the equine company he kept. His annual retainer reportedly was for about $775,000. Add another $110,000 for win prize money (approximately 8 percent of the purse), plus $42,000 in riding fees for his 557 mounts last year.

Prize money is much lower in England than in the U.S. The earnings of the Sheikh Mohammed's horses in England last year totaled about $1.2 million.

Late in the English racing season, the Maktoums and their advisers reassessed their financial situation. They decided to send more horses to West Germany and America and cut the size of their stable branch in England by 24 percent. They also concluded Cauthen's pending contract should be reduced accordingly.

Cauthen was miffed.

"They weren't really willing to bargain. They were giving me an outright stance.

"We were negotiating via telephone (afer I came home) and couldn't really come to any arrangement.

"It made my decision simple. I never intended to ride until I was 50.

"It was quite simple: `If you want to get a cheaper jockey, then get a cheaper jockey.' The reason I'm not riding now is my own choice."

So now, what does Cauthen do with the rest of his life?

Cauthen hasn't decided. But he has no intention of resuming his riding career here.

"It's not that I'll never ride here but it will be the odd race," he explains. "For me to ride full-time would be very difficult because of my weight.